Car-coupling.



1No. 757,366. UPA-TENTED APR. 2, 1904. .0; A. TOWER.

OAR COUPLING.

"APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 18, 1903.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- i0 110mm.

No.-757,366. PATBNTED APR. 12, 1904.

. c. A. TOWER.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION IILED JUNE 18. 1903. 1(0 IODIBL. 3 BHIiETfl-SHBET'B.

UNITED STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON A. TOWER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAI MALLEABLECASTING S COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,366, dated April12, 1904.

Application filed June 18, 1903. Serial No. 161,995. (No modeh) To allwhom it may concern."

Be it known that I, CLINTON A. TOWER, of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county,Ohio, have invented a new and useful Car-Coupler, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact descrip tion, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in which IFigure 1 is a top plan view showing two of my improved couplers A Bpartly broken away to expose the interior construction, theoperating-lever of the coupler Abeing shown in position to bring theparts into lock-set position. Fig. 2 is avertical section on the line IIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the coupler, showingthe knuckle open. Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly broken away, of thecoupler, showing the knuckle open. Fig. 5 is a detail view of theoperating mechanism, showing the locking and opening piece in lockedposition, the wall of the coupler being indicated by dotted lines. Fig.6 is a vertical cross-section on the line V1 VI of Fig. 7, part of thecoupler-head being broken away. Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the lineVII VII of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a detail view of the spindle foroperating the locking and opening piece.

Diificulty has been experienced in devising a car-coupler suitable to beoperated bya side lift for the lock. The side lift is often desirable,especially for use with gravel-cars and the like where it is importantthat the coupler should have no top opening for the entrance of dirt.With other cars also there is often insufiicient room to accommodate theordinary top-opening coupler, so that in any of such cases it isimportant that the coupler should be capable of operation from the side.I have devised a coupler which meets these requirements perfectly. It isadapted to be operated from either side or from both sides, and inaddition it possesses certain advantages of strength and ease ofoperation which are of value, irrespective of the side-opening features.

In Fig. 1 I show two couplers A B of my construction coupled togetherand locked. Each coupler has a swinging knuckle 2, pivoted to thecoupler-head by a pivot-pin 3. The tail of the knuckle when lockedisheld by a locking and opening piece 4. (Shown in detail in Fig. 5.)

rests upon the floor of the coupler, and a downwardly-projecting portion0 extends through a hole 0 in the floor of the coupler. At the upperportion of the locking and opening piece 4 there are two trunnions d,one on each side, which travel Within grooves 5, formed in the sidewalls of "the coupler-head concentric with a spindle 6, hereinafterdescribed. At the base of the grooves 5 there is a recess or recesses 7,under which the trunnions d fit when the parts are in locked position,being held thereunder by the forward tipping of the piece 4 on its seatat b on the floor of the coupler. These recesses serve to hold thelocking and opening piece in locked position and to prevent it fromcreeping upwardly under the When inthe locked position shown in Figs. 2and 7, a heel 6 on said piece' jarring motion of the train. For thepurpose 7 of raising the locking and opening piece 4 in order to unlockand free the knuckle and to move the knuckle open I employ a liftingdevice consisting of a lever 8, of hook form, which when the knuckle isin locked position engages the edge of a recess 6 in the back of thepiece 4, and which as it is raised enters the said recess and finallyengages the piece 4 within the recess firmly, so that the further motionof the lever will move the piece 4 with it as if they were an integralconstruction.

The lever 8 is keyed to the spindle 6, which extends transverselythrough the upper portion of the coupler-head and is connected at itsends with operating crank-rods 9 9'.

The parts being in the position shown in Fig. 7 and at the right of Fig.2, if it is desired to unlock the knuckle and to set the lock inunlocked position without moving the knuckle forward the operatorstanding at either side of the car turns the crank-shaft 9 or 9, therebyrotating the lever 8. The first motion ofthe lever draws back the piece4, so as to free the trunnions d from engagement with the recesses 7,and the continued motion thereof will cause the piece 4 to rise until itreaches the position shown at the left of Fig.

2, the lower end of the part 0 then being lifted above the floor of thecoupler and caused to rest thereon in lock-setting position, and thehook 8 having completely entered and fitted itself into the interior ofthe recess in the back of the piece 4, and the key 10 on the spindle 6having entered an open slot f in the rear of the piece 4, and being thusrigidly connected therewith both by the interfitting of the hook withthe recess and the engagement of the key with the slot. If thecrank-handle 9 or 9 be then released, the piece 4 remains in theposition shown at the left of Fig. 2, being then lifted clear of theknuckle, so as to unlock the knuckle and to permit it to be moved openeither by hand or by draft of a car with which it is connected. When theknuckle is thus moved open, it will engage a beveled projection g on thefront of the piece 4 and will raise the piece 4, so as to lift its lowerend over a ledge 11 at the margin of the hole 0 in the floor of thecoupler and will also move it back, so as to bring the portion 0 in linewith the hole 0. Then as the knuckle moves forward past the piece 4 thelatter will drop into the position shown in Fig. 7 When the knuckle isnext moved back into closed position, its tail will engage the piece 4and will first throw it back slightly, so as to clear the trunnions dfrom the recesses 7 Continued motion will lift the piece 4 upwardly,causing the trunnions to travel within the groove 5 until it has beenraised far enough to allow the knuckle to pass, and when the knuckle haspassed back of the piece the latter will drop into the locking positionshown 'in Fig. 7 and at the right of Fig. 2.

If instead of leaving the piece 4 in lock-set position, as abovedescribed, it is desired to continue its motion far enough to throw theknuckle open, the operator continues to turn the crank-shaft 9 or 9beyond the extent required to bring the parts into the lock-setposition, and the further turning of the spindle 6 which resultstherefrom will cause the piece 4 to move radially with it as if it werean integral part thereof, and the trunnions d will continue to travelwithin the grooves 5 until the parts are brought into the position shownin Fig. 3, the lower end of the locking and opening piece 4 meanwhileengaging the tail of the knuckle and throwing it open to its fullextent. The initial engagement of the piece 4 with the knuckle iseffected by a lateral projection h at the lower end of the piece. Whenthe operating-crank 9 9 is released after the knuckle has been movedinto open position, the piece 4 will drop and the spindle 6 will turnback into its original position. The piece 4 will then be supported onthe floor of the coupler or will drop into the hole in the floor of thecoupler, as the case may be.

It will be noticed that the arrangement of the parts is such that a verystrong leverage is exerted by the operation of the crank-shaft,

so that the knuckle can be opened-with but little exertion.

The preferable construction of the spindle above described is shown inFig. 8. It is pro Vided with a key 10, which enters aslot in the lever8, and its outer ends are formed with coupling-eyepieces 12 13, adaptedto receive and engage the angled ends of the crank-shafts 9 9,respectively. The piece 13 is made separate from the spindle and has asquared socket taking over a correspondingly shaped end thereon. Inassembling the parts the key 10 on the spindle 6 is entered into thecoupler through a corresponding keyway 10, situate in the side of thelatter at such inclination that the key 10 can only be brought intoregister therewith when the piece 4 and the lever 8 are raised beyondthe limit of motion of the knuckle. The spindle therefore cannot beremoved unless the knuckle is first taken from the coupler. The piece 13is held by lateral engagement with a shoulder 14 on the coupler, as,shown in Fig. 5, and cannot be removed until the spindle 6 is firstwithdrawn from said piece. The part 13-may be omitted, but it isdesirable to use it, as it enables the employment of two crank-shafts,one extending to each side of the car. When so employed, eithercrank-shaft may be used without disturbing the crank-shaft at the otherside of the car.

Within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims the parts ofthe coupler may be modified in form and construction, since What I claimis 1. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever by which itis raised and swung forwardly, and a curved guide for said piececoncentric with the lever; substantially as described.

2. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever by which it israised andswung forwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely duringits lifting motion, and engaging it rigidly when moving the knuckleopen, said locking and opening piece extending into an opening in thefloor of the coupler and being adapted when raised to rest upon themargin of said opening; substantially as described.

3. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever by which it israised and swung forwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely duringits lifting motion, and engaging it rigidly when moving the knuckleopen, said piece being adapted to engage a recess in the coupler-head,and said lever being adapted to draw it out of contact with the recessduring the initial motion of the parts; substantially as described.

4. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever adapted toengage a recess therein, and trunnions at the upper portion of thepiece; substantially as described.

5. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever adapted toengage the same freely during its initial movement and then to engage itrigidly, and a recess on the coupler-head adapted to engage said piece,said lever being arranged to impart to the piece an initial motion tofree it from the projection, succeeded by a lifting motion to releasethe knuckle and a swinging motion to move the knuckle open;substantially as described.

6. A coupler having alocking and opening piece, a lever contained withinthe couplerhead, by which the piece is raised and swung forwardly, saidlever engaging the piece freely during its lifting motion and engagingit rigidly when moving the knuckle open, and an operating deviceexterior to the coupler-head and connected detachably to the lever;substantially as described.

7. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, by which the piece is raised and swungforwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely during its liftingmotion and engaging it rigidly when moving the knuckle open, and anoperating-spindle connected detachably to the lever; substantially asdescribed.

8. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, by which the piece is raised and swungforwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely during its liftingmotion and engaging it rigidly when moving the knuckle open, and anoperating-spindle connected detachably to the lever by a key;substantially as described.

9. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, by which the piece is raised and swungforwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely during its liftingmotion and engaging it rigidly when moving the knuckle open, anoperating-spindle connected detachably to the lever, and acoupling-eyepiece on the spindle adapted to receive loosely anoperating-crank; substantially as described.

10. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, by which the piece is raised and swungforwardly, said lever engaging the piece freely during its liftingmotion, and engaging it rigforwardly, said lever engaging the piecefreely during its lifting motion and having a hook portion adapted toengage it rigidly when moving the knuckle open; substantially asdescribed.

13. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, and an operating-spindle connected detachably tothe lever; substantially as described.

14. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, an operating-spindle having a crank connection,and a coupling-eyepiece fitted to the spindle and constituting a secondcrank connection; substantially as described.

15. A coupler having a locking and opening piece, a lever containedwithin the couplerhead, an operating-spindle,and a coupling-eyepiecefitted detachably thereto; substantially as described.

16. In a coupler having a locking and open ing piece, a lever by whichit is raised and swung forwardly, and a curved guide, said locking andopening piece fitting at the upper end in the guide and having at thelower end a portion adapted to engage the knuckle; substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

' CLINTON A. TOWER.

